Five fun facts about leap year

Technically, it’s not every four years. Julius Caesar introduced the idea of the first leap year around 46 B.C, but his math on how often it happens was a little off. Instead of being solely defined as any year evenly divisible by four (his words, not ours), the century years also need to be evenly divisible by 400. For example, 2000 was a leap year, but 1900 was not.

Birthdays can be existential. Called “leaplings,” those born on February 29 usually either celebrate on February 28 or March 1 on off years. (Also, they don’t find the “you don’t have a birthday this year, so we can skip the presents” joke funny.). February 29 counts legally on all documents such as licenses and passports. The chances of having a leap birthday are one in 1,461.

It’s not for everyone.

Some cultures, such as those that do not use the Gregorian Calendar, do not observe February 29 as a leap day. The Chinese calendar adds an entire leap month instead of just one day roughly every three years.

Getting engaged is a lady’s choice. February 29 is also known as Bachelor’s Day, on which Irish tradition dictates that women are allowed to propose to men. Ladies, mark your calendars.

But you might want to reconsider a 2024 wedding…or not? In many cultures, including Scotland and Greece, it’s considered unlucky to get married in a leap year, but not everyone believes you’re doomed for divorce. The Chinese, for example, believe that getting married during a Leap Year can bring the couple extra luck and prosperity.

No matter what your favorite Leap Year lore, we’re just happy to have an extra day to keep on doing what we love to do: innovating, improving and delivering for our customers.

Here’s to seizing an extra day of possibilities!